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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30147669">We Met A Little Early.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CristinaBlackthornKingson/pseuds/CristinaBlackthornKingson'>CristinaBlackthornKingson</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Red White &amp; Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Aunt-Niece Relationship, Aunts &amp; Uncles, Babies, Birth Control, Books, Childbirth, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Father Figures, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Female Friendship, Friendship, Gay Parents, Gen, Grandchildren, Grandmothers, Grandparents &amp; Grandchildren, High School, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Male Friendship, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Newborn Children, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Other, Parent-Child Relationship, Post-Canon, Pregnancy, Protective Parents, Sex Education, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Siblings, Surgery, Teen Pregnancy, Teenage Parents, Two Fathers, Uncle-Nephew Relationship, Uncle-Niece Relationship, Unplanned Pregnancy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 18:48:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,834</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30147669</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CristinaBlackthornKingson/pseuds/CristinaBlackthornKingson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In 2040 everything seems to be going perfectly for Henry and Alex, they have a happy marriage, 3 beautiful and perfect children, a home to call their own, steady and happy jobs, and more extended family and friends than they know what to do with.</p>
<p>However drama is never far from these two, and the peace and quiet of the last few years is shattered, when they find out their daughter is pregnant at 16.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex Claremont-Diaz &amp; Beatrice Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Alex Claremont-Diaz &amp; June Claremont-Diaz, Alex Claremont-Diaz &amp; Nora Holleran, Alex Claremont-Diaz &amp; Oscar Diaz, Alex Claremont-Diaz &amp; Percy "Pez" Okonjo, Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Beatrice Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor &amp; Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Catherine Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor &amp; Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Ellen Claremont &amp; Alex Claremont-Diaz, Ellen Claremont/Leo, Ellen Claremont/Oscar Diaz, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor &amp; Percy "Pez" Okonjo, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor &amp; Philip Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor &amp; Shaan Srivastava, June Claremont-Diaz &amp; Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, June Claremont-Diaz &amp; Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor &amp; Nora Holleran, June Claremont-Diaz/Nora Holleran, June Claremont-Diaz/Nora Holleran/Percy "Pez" Okonjo, June Claremont-Diaz/Percy "Pez" Okonjo, Nora Holleran/Percy "Pez" Okonjo, Zahra Bankston &amp; Ellen Claremont, Zahra Bankston/Shaan Srivastava</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>We Met A Little Early.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29993016">Holding the Atmosphere</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifigo/pseuds/ifigo">ifigo</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story is set in an AU of my RW&amp;RB next generation series, all the same OCs and stuff, they've just gone down a different path.</p>
<p>**TW/CW**<br/>Very brief mention of sexual assault.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It is a cool late Autumn day in 2040 when what started off as a normal day for the Claremont-Diaz-Windsors, turns into a day none of them will soon forget.</p>
<p>Having finished work early today, Alex has decided to take advantage of the fact that the 3 kids are at school and therefore not there to constantly make a mess, and get some cleaning done, while Henry works in his office.</p>
<p>Alex is hardly paying attention to his tasks at all, more so focusing in on his audio book, as he steps into the bathroom to empty the bin in there. That is until the bin is almost totally empty, and he spots one of the last things he was expecting to see at the bottom of the bin. </p>
<p>Alex’s heart leaps into his mouth when at the bottom of the bin, he spots two pregnancy tests, two<em> positive</em> pregnancy tests to be precise. </p>
<p>“<em>What the fuck?"  </em>Alex quietly says to himself, trying not to let the panic rise in his chest, as he rips his earphones out and shoves them in his pocket, not caring that he is now going to completely lose his place in his book.</p>
<p>He takes the two tests out of the bin and sets them on the counter in front of him, trying to stop his hands shaking. </p>
<p><em>‘Okay’</em> he thinks to himself.<em> ‘Don’t panic, it doesn’t necessarily mean what you think it means. Maybe these are June’s, or Nora’s.’</em> Alex thinks to himself, trying to rationalize the situation. However almost as soon as this thought occurs to him, he realizes they can’t possibly be his sister or sister-in-laws, as they’ve been in Mexico with Pez and their 2 kids for the last 2 weeks, and the bathroom bin has been emptied since then.</p>
<p>The tests can’t be Bea or Sierra’s either, they’re both in England and haven’t been to America in over a month. They can’t be Ana’s either, she’s only 14 and recently told Henry and Alex that she’s gay. So that really only leaves one possibility. </p>
<p>The tests have to be Charlotte’s.</p>
<p>Alex feels a bit sick to his stomach at the thought of his sixteen year old being pregnant, she’s just a baby herself! He is completely shaken and shocked to his  core, their Charlotte has always been so mature and responsible, wise beyond her years. She knows the importance of practicing safe sex, Alex and Henry made sure all 3 of their kids have appropriate sex ed all through their lives, and when Charlotte started seeing her boyfriend 6 months ago, Alex and Henry made sure to have an extra talk with her and emphasize the importance of safe sex.</p>
<p>Forgetting about the bag of rubbish on the floor next to him, Alex picks up the tests and makes his way to Henry’s office, where the door is ajar, meaning Henry doesn’t mind distractions or visitors right now. </p>
<p>Wordlessly Alex walks into the office and sets the tests down in front of his husband. Henry quirks an eyebrow and slowly looks up at his husband. </p>
<p>“Is this your way of telling me you want another baby?” Henry calmly asks. </p>
<p>“Oh fuck no!” Alex says. “Two teenagers, a pre-teen and a newborn? No thanks. No, I found these in the bathroom bin.” Henry’s eyes widen.</p>
<p>“Well who’s are they?” He asks. </p>
<p>“Charlotte’s I think, I mean who else’s could they be? Ana’s too young, and Nora and June haven’t been here in like 2 weeks.” Alex explains. </p>
<p>“Fuck.” Henry swears. “What should we do?” Alex sighs and sinks down into a chair in front of Henry’s desk. </p>
<p>“I have no idea.” He tells him. </p>
<p>“Should we tell Charlotte we know?” Henry asks, looking from the tests to Alex, still trying to absorb the fact that his baby, his sweet little Lottie, is pregnant. </p>
<p>“Yeah, we probably should, and let her know that we love her and support her no matter what.” Alex says.</p>
<p>“God the media are going to have a bloody field day with this.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Two hours later Charlotte arrives home from school. Usually Henry and Alex would pick her up in the car, but today she stayed behind for an extra hour to help Ellie with an art project, and so decided to walk home with her friend.</p>
<p>“Hey kiddo.” Alex greets his daughter, looking up from Ana’s math homework that she asked him to check over to make sure she did it right. </p>
<p>“Hi.” Charlotte replies with a bright smile, taking her jacket off and hanging it up on the coat hook by the door. </p>
<p>“Hello love, how was school?” Henry asks, coming into the room. Charlotte shrugs. </p>
<p>“Eh, same old same old, boring.” she replies, running a hand through her long dark hair, looking so much like Sierra it’s eerie. </p>
<p>“Hey Lots, can your dad and I talk to you for a minute?” Alex asks, attempting a light and casual tone. </p>
<p>“Ugh is this about me getting into an argument about not studying for Spanish? Why should I waste my time studying a language I know just as well as English, and grew up speaking?” Charlotte asks in a defensive tone, folding her arms across her chest and thinking about the argument she got into with her homeroom teacher the other day. </p>
<p>“Uh no we’re fully with you on that one.” Alex says. “You’re not in trouble, we just wanna talk, just the 3 of us.” </p>
<p>“Uh okay.” Charlotte agrees, not believing for a second that she isn’t in trouble. Maybe they found out about her organizing an event on social media, to egg the statue of Thomas Jefferson that’s going to be put up soon. Or the fact she very nearly got arrested at a Black Lives Matter rally last week, with Ellie. </p>
<p>“So.” Alex begins once the three of them are settled in the living room. “I found these today.” He sets the pregnancy tests on the coffee table between them, his heart sinking further when he watches Charlotte’s face pale and her eyes widen in shock and horror. </p>
<p>“Are they yours?” Henry gently asks. Wordlessly, Charlotte nods. “Do you want to talk about it?” </p>
<p>“I promise I wasn’t having unsafe sex, I swear every time Matt and I have slept together we’ve used a condom, I did come off the pill a couple months ago because it seriously fucked with my OCD, but that just made us more cautious. </p>
<p>A couple weeks ago, after we... you know, um Matt was about to take the condom off, when he realized it had torn. We weren’t sure when that happened, so I immediately went and got the morning after pill. I took it within an hour after sex, so I thought I was out of the woods. But a couple weeks ago I just started feeling really weird, and I noticed my period was pretty late, so I decided to take a test just to be sure. When... when it came up positive I refused to believe it, I thought it was faulty, so I bought another one, and when it was positive too I knew it wasn’t faulty, I mean these tests are like 98% effective anyway.” Charlotte explains in a shaky tone, gesturing at the tests sitting in front of her.</p>
<p>“Does Matthew know?” Henry asks. He likes Charlotte’s boyfriend, but can he trust him to step up and accept responsibility? Charlotte nods. </p>
<p>“Yeah I told him pretty much straight away, and he supports me 100% in whatever choice I make.” </p>
<p>“And do you know what choice you’re going to make?” Alex asks. </p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m keeping the baby, I know it will be hard but I can do it, I want this baby, I love them so much already and I couldn’t go through with an abortion or adoption, it wouldn’t be the right or best choice for me or baby.” Charlotte explains, her hand laying across her stomach in a protective manner. </p>
<p>“We love you and support you Charlotte, and we support you in this choice too, you’re right being a parents is hard and it will be even harder as someone so young, but your dad and I are to help you every step of the way.” Alex firmly assures her, racing out to place his hand over hers. Charlotte gives him a wobbly smile. </p>
<p>“Thank you, it means a lot to me.” She quietly says. </p>
<p>“Do you know how far along you are?” Henry asks. </p>
<p>“About 2 months I think, like 8 weeks maybe? I’m not entirely sure yet, I haven’t been to a doctor or anything.” Charlotte tells them.</p>
<p>“Do you need any help finding an OB, or midwife? I think the midwife who delivered you and your sister is still working, as is the doctor who delivered Arthur, we could put you in touch with either of them if you like.” Henry offers. </p>
<p>“Thanks, but no I’m gonna ask <em>Tía </em>June to help me find someone, I want to find someone who’s queer friendly and understands how my OCD will affect things.” Charlotte says.</p>
<p>“You know.” Alex gently begins. “You’re gonna have to tell your Aunt Zahra sooner rather than later, you’ll need her help with managing how to announce your pregnancy to the media and handling it all once it’s out there. You’re not just any random pregnant teenager, you’re the granddaughter of not only the first female President of America, but also the granddaughter of the Queen of England.” </p>
<p>“Yeah I know, but I don’t mind. I trust Aunt Zahra with my life, I’ll call her and talk to her later.” Charlotte assures them. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>That night, both Henry and Alex have a hard time getting to sleep, still shocked and in disbelief that Charlotte is pregnant. </p>
<p>“I know he’s a good kid and all, but I kinda wanna kill Matthew for getting Charlotte pregnant.” Alex quietly grumbles to Henry, sitting up in bed, giving up on sleep. </p>
<p>“And land in prison just before we’re about to become grandparents? I don’t think so. And it’s not like he forced or tricked her or anything, or pressured her into sex without protection, they were both being as smart and sensible as possible, and for some reason the morning after pill just didn’t work for Charlotte, it happens sometimes.” Henry replies, sitting up next to Alex, pushing his hair out of his face. Alex sighs. </p>
<p>“I know, I’m just so worried about her, Hen.” Henry rubs Alex’s back soothingly. </p>
<p>“I know love, so am I, but she’s a strong young woman and has our love and support, and no doubt will have the rest of the family’s love and support too, she’s <em>our </em>daughter don’t forget, she’s tough as nails, she can get through anything.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The next day after school, Charlotte decides to bite the bullet and call up her Aunt Zahra and tell her the news. It’s not that she’s necessarily<em> afraid</em> of her Aunt Zahra, she’s never been cruel or mean to Charlotte, but she is intimidating, especially when she’s in work mode.</p>
<p>“Hello?” Zahra answers after a few rings. </p>
<p>“Hey Aunt Zahra, it’s me, are you busy right now?” Charlotte asks, plucking at the sequins on her jumper. </p>
<p>“I’d say I have ten, fifteen minutes at most before Ellie and Max start fighting and I have to go break them apart, why?” Zahra calmly replies. </p>
<p>“I need to talk to you about something, something that’s gonna require damage control.” Charlotte admits. </p>
<p>“Oh for fuck’s sake, what did you do now?” Zahra asks. Charlotte bites her lip. </p>
<p>“Uh, I’m pregnant.” There is silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds, before Zahra speaks again, deadly quiet. </p>
<p>“Are you fucking serious right now?” </p>
<p>“Uh hu.” Charlotte says with a nod. </p>
<p>“Goddammit Charlotte, I did not expect this from you!  What the fuck were you doing having unprotected sex?” Zahra asks in an exasperated tone.</p>
<p>“It wasn’t unprotected! The condom broke,<em> and</em> I took the morning after pill but it didn’t work, and yes I took it right, we saw the condom broke and went straight to the pharmacy.” Charlotte explains. </p>
<p>“Well alright, I can’t exactly judge you, that’s how I got pregnant with Ellie, but don’t you dare tell her that. Look, obviously I love you and support you no matter what, but this is gonna cause quiet the stir up in the media, reporters and news outlets everywhere are always looking for some dirt on the royal grand kids, you and your siblings specifically, because you’re also the grand kids of the first female president of America, and have two dads.” Zahra says. Charlotte pointlessly nods her understanding. </p>
<p>“Yeah I figured, but we can find a way to minimize the damage done, right?” She hopefully asks. </p>
<p>“Yeah course we can.” </p>
<p>So for the next hour or so Charlotte and Zahra talk at length about how to handle this, and soon come up with a game plan that will hopefully keep the peace for the most part.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>When Charlotte reaches her fifth month of pregnancy, she and Matthew agree that it feels like the right time to announce the news to the public. Previously Zahra had suggested they do a professional photo shoot and post the pictures to the official Kensington Palace Instagram page, so that is exactly what they do.</p>
<p>A week later the Official Kensington Palace Instagram page uploads a series of photos of Charlotte and Matthew. The first is of Matt standing behind Charlotte, his arms around her waist, hands resting on her bump, while Charlotte beams into the camera and holds up an ultrasound photo. The next two are recreations of the pregnancy announcement photos Henry and Alex posted 16 years ago, when Sierra was pregnant with Charlotte.</p>
<p>The first photo her parents posted, was a photo of their old family dog (who passed away when Charlotte was 7) David, standing next to a letter board that spelled out <em><strong>‘My dads are gettin me a</strong> <strong>hooman!</strong></em>’ with a pair of tiny white baby shoes in front of the letter board. </p>
<p>In Charlotte and Matt’s photo, they have Matt’s dog (a Labrador) Boq sit next to a letter board that reads <strong><em>‘Mom and dad are gettin me a hooman!’</em></strong> and there is a tiny pair of white shoes sitting in front of the letter board, the exact same ones Henry and Alex used for their photo shoot all those years ago, having never used them for any of their 3 kids, simply keeping them for sentimentality. </p>
<p>The second and last photo that Henry and Alex had posted, was a picture of them sharing a loving kiss, while holding an ultrasound photo between them. Charlotte and Matt recreate this photo to a T, for their third and final announcement photo.</p>
<p>Alongside the photos the following caption is posted.</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <b>“HRH Princess Charlotte and her official suitor Matthew Bernard are pleased to announce that they will be welcoming their first child this Spring. The Happy couple have shared that they in 5 months time they will be welcoming a daughter, who will be 8th in line for the throne, just behind her mother and ahead of HRH Princess Anastasia, Charlotte’s younger sister.</b>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <b>Congratulations to the happy couple!”</b>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p>
<p>The replies soon come flooding in, with most people finding it exciting and mostly focusing on the fact that Henry and Alex are going to be grandparents. There a few comments asking when the wedding is, where Charlotte’s engagement ring is, etc. But they’re few and far between. </p>
<p>They are flooded with requests for interviews by many journalists and reporters, it’s a little overwhelming. In the end they agree to a 40 minute interview with the host of a daytime TV talk show, Samantha Briggs. </p>
<p>Thankfully, unlike when Henry and Alex did interviews when Charlotte was on the way, Charlotte and Matt are not faced with intrusive, insensitive and rude questions from Samantha. They talk about a great number of things, like how they will juggle parenthood and school, how they plan to raise the baby and keep her off social media and out of the spotlight, like Henry and Alex did for Charlotte and her siblings, and most importantly how they feel like the world is a little bit more of a friendly and safe place now to raise a mixed race child in, than it was 16 and years ago when Charlotte and Matt were born, who are also both mixed race, with Charlotte being half Cuban and half English, while Matt is half Thai and half English. </p>
<p>As Charlotte gets further and further along in her pregnancy, she and Matt start making plans for the near future. For one thing, Charlotte decides that she wants to give birth in the birthing center that’s attached to the local hospital, where Ana and Arthur were born and she was suppose to be born, had she not come 2 weeks early while her parents and Sierra were in DC. </p>
<p>Charlotte has already been seeing a midwife frequently throughout her pregnancy, so all going well that same midwife (Sarah) will deliver her baby. Charlotte has also decided that in the room with her she wants Matt, and her <em>Abuelita</em>, Ellen. She wants another woman there with her, who understands what exactly she is going through, and out of all the women in her family, Charlotte is undoubtedly closest to her <em>aubelita. </em></p>
<p>Henry and Alex invite Matt to move in with them, so that he can be with Charlotte and the baby full time, and not have to camp out on their sofa or trek between his house and their house. They even agree to letting them share a room, at first they were not keen on that, but then Charlotte pointed out that she was already pregnant, so there wasn’t much point in having separate rooms. Alex and Henry couldn’t argue with that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Charlotte’s pregnancy passes by smoothly and without much to report, she and baby are always healthy and happy, and the biggest complaint Charlotte has the entire pregnancy, is the very weird cravings she gets. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It is now just 2 weeks from Charlotte’s due date, and she is just on her way home from having lunch with Ellen and Leo. Normally she is able to drive herself or have Henry or Alex pick her up, but her security has increased and tightened since she announced her pregnancy, as she is much more vulnerable now. And honestly Charlotte can’t really complain about sitting in the back of a car right now, being driven back home by a chauffeur and her Uncle Shaan, who use to be her dad's Equerry, but then became his manager after Henry moved to America and became a published author.</p>
<p>As Charlotte sits there, eyes closed and head titled back, thinking about how dramatically her life is about to change, Charlotte feels an odd popping sensation in her lower abdomen, which is followed seconds later by a spreading wet/damp feeling between her legs. </p>
<p>Charlotte gasps and open her eyes to see a dark patch spreading across the crotch of her leggings and down her thighs, as well as on the seat, between her legs and underneath her. </p>
<p>“Oh fuck.” Charlotte swears, looking around for something to catch the rest of the water. </p>
<p>"Charlotte? Are you alright?" Shaan asks in a concerned tone, turning to look at Charlotte. </p>
<p>“Uh I think my water broke.” She replies, feeling the warm liquid run down the inside of her leg. </p>
<p>“Okay, it's alright." Shaan calmly says, not wanting Charlotte to panic, knowing how easily this could trigger a panic attack for her. He reaches over and places a comforting hand over hers. "It's okay Charlotte, we're only 5 minutes away from the birthing center, you're safe, your baby is safe. You just hang on tight for 5 minutes and then we'll be at the birthing center where you will still have plenty of time before your baby is born, alright?" </p>
<p>“Uh-hu.” Charlotte nods, wiping at her tears of fear and holding tightly to Shaan's hand.</p>
<p>On the drive to the birthing center, Shaan quickly contacts everyone that needs to know that Charlotte’s waters have broken. Henry and Alex are going to meet them there at reception, with both Charlotte and the baby’s bags. Matt and Ellen are also going to meet them there, and the birthing center has been alerted that Charlotte is on her way in, so they have begun setting up her room.</p>
<p>Just half an hour later, Charlotte is happily settled in her room at the birthing suite, changed into clean and dry clothes, in very little to no pain, happily chatting with Matt and Ellen, feeling more excited than nervous or afraid. Sierra had a really smooth and easy birth with her, so Charlotte has hope her birth will be smooth and easy too.</p>
<p>As Charlotte and Matt talk about how they cannot wait to take their daughter to the theater to see all their favoriet musicals and shows, since they’re both big musical theater fans, there is a light knock at the door and Sarah comes in, smiling warmly at the three of them. </p>
<p>“Hello.” She warmly greets. “How are you doing Charlotte?” </p>
<p>“Great.” Charlotte replies with a grin. “I can feel the contractions, but they’re hardly painful at all, I can just feel my stomach getting harder.” </p>
<p>“That’s great, love to hear that! Is it okay with you if I just quickly check baby’s position? It’s protocol here to check the position every hour or so, just to be sure everything is as it should be.” Sarah explains. </p>
<p>“Yeah, sure.” Charlotte happily agrees.</p>
<p>Ten minutes later, Sarah has finished checking baby’s position, and sits back with a neutral look on her face. </p>
<p>“Okay Charlotte, I don’t want you to panic because this is not something to be scared about, but baby has actually flipped transverse, sideways. Obviously this position is impossible for a vaginal birth, but if you like I can try turning the baby but it is not guaranteed to work, and it does increase the risk for placental abruption, among other things.” Sarah gently explains.</p>
<p>“No.” Charlotte firmly says. “No I’m not taking any risk, I’ve been so lucky to have a really easy and smooth pregnancy so far, I’m not about to tempt fate, I’m okay with a C-section, I’d rather that than risk the baby.” </p>
<p>“Okay I fully support you in that decision, I’m going to go sort everything out, and I’ll be back to walk with you to surgery, I of course won’t be performing the C-section but I will be there to support you and help you and baby after, and I’ll be here to care for you after the operation too, alright?” Sarah gently and calmly asks. Charlotte nods. </p>
<p>“You sure you’re okay with this Lots, aren’t you afraid of surgery?” Matt asks in a concerned tone, placing a hand on his girlfriend’s shoulder. </p>
<p>“A little, but not as afraid as I am of something happening to our baby.” She replies in a breathy tone. </p>
<p>“It’ll be alright sugar, I promise you don’t feel any pain, I had an emergency C-section with Alex, he was out before I knew it, you’ll be just fine.” Ellen reassures her granddaughter, rubbing her lower back soothingly. </p>
<p>Unfortunately only one support person is allowed into the operating theater with Charlotte, so while Sarah takes Matt to get gowned and masked up, Ellen heads into the waiting room and tells Henry and Alex of the latest developments. Of course they’re both afraid and nervous for their daughter, a C-section is a major operation and not easy to recover from, but they know she is in the safest hands possible, and they just have to trust the doctors and surgeons. </p>
<p>Charlotte’s c-section goes incredibly smoothly, and before she knows it the operating room is filled the sounds of her baby’s cries. </p>
<p>“It’s a girl!” The OB happily announces, holding the baby up over the drape so Charlotte and Matt can see her.</p>
<p>“Oh my god.” Charlotte laughs in delight, while Matt squeezes her hand and kisses her forehead.</p>
<p>“Do you wanna hold her?” The doctor asks. Charlotte nods eagerly. </p>
<p>While the doctor starts cleaning and closing the incision, Sarah takes the baby and places her on Charlotte’s chest, inside her hospital gown.</p>
<p>“Congratulations, she’s absolutely beautiful.” Sarah says in a warm tone.</p>
<p>“Thanks.” Charlotte quietly says, all her attention on her baby, her tiny and sweet little baby. She seems to take up hardly any space on Charlotte’s chest, and she seems to be a perfect mix of both her parents, with her skin being closer to Charlotte’s dark brown than Matt’s light brown, a few wisps of black hair like Matt, Matt’s eyes and Charlotte’s nose and mouth. She is absolutely perfect. </p>
<p>“Hi baby.” Charlotte softly says, stroking her baby’s cheek. “Hi Emma.” </p>
<p>“She’s so perfect.” Matt softly adds, his face lighting up as Emma wraps a tiny hand around one of his fingers, clearly recognizing his voice from all the times he would talk to her during Charlotte’s pregnancy. </p>
<p>“I see now why my dad and papa are so protective of me, and Ana and Arthur. I never want to let Emma out of my sight, and I love her so much it hurts.” Charlotte tells Matt in a hoarse voice, tilting her head up to smile at him. Matt returns the smile and pecks a kiss to her lips. </p>
<p>“Same here.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>30 minutes later Charlotte is taken to a recovery room. There she and Matt take another hour or so to rest and relax, and bond with Emma, before they invite everyone in to meet Emma.</p>
<p>Over the next couple of days, Charlotte and Matt have all the help they could possibly need, with Emma. The doctors and nurses at the hospital are so kind and helpful, so when it comes time for Charlotte and Emma to go home, Charlotte makes sure to come back in a few weeks or so with a gift for the nurses, and to bring Emma to visit the people who helped bring her into the world.</p>
<p>The first few days at home are tough, Emma wakes 4 times a night for both a feed and a change, and sometimes wakes up twice more, needing to be soothed. It’s pretty rough on Charlotte and Matt, but Charlotte especially, seeing as she is recovering from a major operation.</p>
<p>On Emma’s 4th night home, Henry is awoken around 3:00 A.M. to the sounds of a baby crying, a very familiar sound to him. He doesn’t mind of course, he knows first hand how fussy babies can be and how difficult it can be to settle them, Charlotte was a very chilled and relaxed baby, but Ana was much more high maintenance and would cry at the smallest of things.</p>
<p>Henry rolls over in the bed, throwing his leg across Alex’s and burying his face in his husband’s back, and tries to drift off again. However unlike Alex, he cannot sleep through anything, especially not the sounds of a baby’s cry. Even 11 years since having a newborn at home, Henry’s brain is still hard-wired to wake up and stay awake when there’s a baby crying. </p>
<p>Since he’s not about to get back to sleep anytime soon, Henry decides to get up and help out with Emma, no doubt Charlotte and Matt are overwhelmed right now, he certainly was when Charlotte was born, and he wasn’t recovering from surgery and trying to stay on top of school at the same time, he also wasn’t 16.</p>
<p>When Henry steps out into the living room, he finds Charlotte sitting on the sofa, desperately trying to console a crying Emma, as she herself cries silently. </p>
<p>Henry makes his way over to the sofa and sits next to Charlotte, placing a hand on her shoulder. </p>
<p>“Hey, what’s wrong?” He gently asks.</p>
<p>“Emma’s been crying non-stop for the past hour, and no matter what I do I can’t get her to settle, I’ve tried feeding her, changing her, winding her, talking to her, walking around with her, everything, but she just won’t settle and I feel like the worst mom in the world because I can’t make my baby stop crying.” Charlotte sobs, making Henry feel as if his heart is about to split in half.</p>
<p>“Oh baby you’re not a bad mum, not at all. You’re tired my love, and recovering from a major operation, do you want me to try and settle Emma?” Henry offers. </p>
<p>“Yes please.” Charlotte sniffles, passing her daughter to Henry, who expertly holds her against his shoulder, supporting her head with one hand and patting her back with the other. </p>
<p>Within minutes Emma lets loose a loud burp, and almost instantly her cries stop, and she contentedly snuggles into Henry’s shoulder. </p>
<p>“H-how did you do that?” Charlotte asks in a tone of amazement and awe. Henry laughs lightly and kisses Emma’s forehead. </p>
<p>“I have a gift for settling fussy babies, even before you lot were born, I was always able to settle your cousins, it’s something your Aunty Bea has always been quiet jealous of.” He tells her in an amused tone, remembering walking the halls of Kensington Palace with Martha and Philip’s eldest daughter Lucie held against his shoulder, only sleeping for him.</p>
<p>“Well thanks for settling her, I really appreciate it.” Charlotte says. </p>
<p>“It was no problem at all love, l’m use to it, Ana was a very fussy baby.” Henry assures her.</p>
<p>Charlotte sighs and rests her head on Henry’s shoulder, tears still dripping down her face. </p>
<p>“I love Emma so much, but motherhood is so much harder than I ever thought it would be.” She quietly says. Henry presses a kiss to the top of her head and tells her </p>
<p>“I felt the same way when you were born.” </p>
<p>“Really?” Charlotte asks in a surprised tone, having always thought her dad and papa found parenthood easy, and it came to them naturally. </p>
<p>“Oh absolutely. When you were born I was so terrified and stressed out of my mind, even though I loved you more than I knew possible. I cried a lot too, sometimes when you were particularity resistant to a nap or hard to settle, once I finally got you to sleep, I would come sit on the sofa and just cry, because I found it all so difficult. </p>
<p>One thing that always helped me though, was having someone to talk to, especially on days when your papa was at work or otherwise busy and couldn’t be home with us. Sometimes I would just call up your Nan or Aunty Bea, or even your Uncle Shaan, and just cry and talk to them about how hard I was finding it all, how much I was struggling. You know I’m here for you if you ever want to talk.” </p>
<p>Charlotte hugs her dad tightly, clinging to him for comfort like she did as a little girl. </p>
<p>“Thanks dad.” she quietly says. Henry rubs her back and presses a kiss to her forehead. </p>
<p>“My pleasure, love. Now you go on back to bed and your papa and I will take care of Emma for the rest of the night.” Henry instructs. </p>
<p>“Really?” Charlotte asks in a hopeful tone. </p>
<p>“Absolutely, I know what it’s like to have a new baby and try and survive off such little and broken sleep. Believe me, a few hours of uninterrupted sleep will do you the world of good, when you were this age your <em>Tías</em> June and Nora and your <em>Tío</em> Pez would come around almost everyday and take you for a walk or to visit your <em>abuelita</em> or something for a few hours, so your papa and I could get some rest and then be the best parents possible.” Henry explains, remembering how grateful he felt to June, Nora and Pez in those very early days of parenthood, for allowing he and Alex to get 2 or 3 hours of real peaceful sleep almost everyday, not everyone is fortunate enough to have someone do something like that for them.</p>
<p>“Thank you so much, you’re the best dad.” Charlotte says in a grateful tone. Henry smiles and kisses the top of her head. </p>
<p>“Go on, get some rest, sleep well.” </p>
<p>Once Charlotte has gone back into her room (and hopefully gone to sleep and not started scrolling on her phone or trying to catch up on schoolwork like she so often does, she’s far too like Alex in that way) Henry cradles little Emma in his arms, holding her in front of him, smiling as she blinks up at him with her big dark brown eyes, Charlotte’s eyes. </p>
<p>“Right young madam, it’s time for you to sleep now.” </p>
<p>Henry makes his way back into he and Alex’s room and carefully slips back into bed, laying Emma on a pillow between he and Alex, trying not to wake Alex, though to no avail.</p>
<p>“Hen?” Alex asks in a sleepy tone, turning over to face his husband and rubbing at his bleary eyes. His brow furrows when he spots Emma on the pillow between them. “Why is there a baby in our bed? Have I gone back in time?” </p>
<p>Henry rolls his eyes affectionately. </p>
<p>“No, don’t be ridiculous. Charlotte was having a hard time settling Emma so I gave her a hand, then once I got Emma settled and asleep I told Charlotte to go sleep too, poor girl is an absolute wreck, she needs some proper sleep.” Henry informs him, stroking Emma’s dark tufts of hair. </p>
<p> “Well I’m never one to say no to baby cuddles, even Mateo won’t hug me anymore.” Alex pouts, snuggling further into the duvet and pressing a kiss to Emma’s cheek. </p>
<p>“That’s because you’re annoying and he prefers me, his favoriet Uncle.” Henry teases, earning a kick in the leg from Alex. </p>
<p>“Shut up Wales.” </p>
<p>“Love you really.” Henry replies in a light tone. Alex sighs but brings Henry’s hand to his lips and kisses the back of his hand. </p>
<p>“Love you too.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>8 years later, Charlotte and Matt are breaking headlines once again. </p>
<p>All over social media and in every magazine and newspaper, is a picture of a now 24 year old Charlotte and 24 year old Matt, standing in their garden. Charlotte’s beautiful dark hair is sitting neatly around her shoulders, her make up is done to perfection and she looks like an angel in a form fitting knee-length white dress.</p>
<p>Charlotte is grinning into the camera, holding one hand up to show off a singular ring on her ring finger, gold band with a tear shaped emerald jewel in the middle, sparkling in the sun. Her other hand, is resting on her swollen stomach.</p>
<p>The headline reads </p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>‘Breaking: HRH Princess Charlotte engaged to long-term boyfriend Matthew Bernard, and expecting second baby. A new Prince will be arriving this summer’</em>
  </b>
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